The Economies of Adrian Howells

A contribution to It’s All Allowed:The Performances of Adrian Howells, edited by Dee Heddon and Dominic Johnson. Drawing on personal records and production ephemera – now held as part of the Scottish Theatre Archive – this essay explores the forms of affective labour and generosity which characterised Howells’ practice, and the ways in which his one-to-one performances might challenge dominant cultural conceptions of value and exchange.

Excerpt: ‘Adrian Howells kept his receipts. He kept his receipts, his professional contracts and his bank statements, and he kept them carefully. I am trying to make sense of these records, and the trace of value that they describe in Howells’ life and practice. This is not an easy task, in part because he seems to have kept nearly everything but also – paradoxically – because his archive is a partial one’.

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The Soloist – Scottee

A conversation with queer performance artist Scottee about class, theatre, finding an audience – and making that audience feel welcome. Recorded in a slightly echo-y room at the end of 2016 and released to mark the publication of the script for Bravado, Scottee’s memoir of working class masculinity.

Scottee is a prolific creator with two full-length solo shows – Putting Words in Your Mouth and Bravado – and multiple smaller projects out in the world since the interview was recorded. These include the ongoing Unwarranted Collaboration series in which Scottee sources paintings from house clearances, charity shops and junk yards, and defaces them with slogans, From Wivenhoe, With Love for the Heritage Open Days festival and the recurring online workshop Notepad Warrior ‘to channel your inner art activist’.

In this interview, we talk about what drives him to make new shows, the sometimes unwelcoming culture of performance art, his collaboration with Chris Goode in making The Worst of Scottee and his reputation for making ‘risky’ work.

The short film we talk about towards the end of the conversation is Eau de Toilette, made with Judy Jacob.

For details of Scottee’s tour dates, visit his website: scottee.co.uk.